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L.L.Bean’s Hometown Celebration: a Pictorial Play-by-Play

To commemorate L.L.Bean’s 100-year anniversary, we threw a four-day Hometown Celebration last week for all our customers, friends, neighbors, employees and family. We played games, danced, raced, kayaked, shopped, listened to live entertainment and enjoyed tasty food – including lobster rolls and whoopie pies. Here’s a play-by-play of some of our favorite moments from the Hometown Celebration.

The week kicked off with our Annual Fourth of July 10K Road Race and Family Fun Run on Independence Day.

The 10K was followed by Freeport’s Fourth of July Parade, where the Bootmobile was joined by a Bean Boot Troupe!

The rest of the day was filled with arts and crafts and free concerts at our Discovery Park Stage.

Topping off the evening was country music star Jo Dee Messina, who held her set in our Hunting & Fishing Store when foul weather moved in.

Thursday the 5th began with a meet-and-greet with two of our favorite Bostonians) – former Red Sox player Rico Petrocelli and the Red Sox mascot, Wally the Green Monster.

We cooled down with a tasty treat – compliments of our friends at Gifford’s Ice Cream – scoops of Muddy Bean Boots, the flavor inspired by our iconic footwear.

The afternoon was a whirlwind of outdoor activities, including free Outdoor Discovery Schools kayaking and standup paddleboarding courses, a kids’ bike rodeo and a Boy Scouts camping demo.

We headed into the weekend with world champion snowboarder Seth Westcott, who joined us at Adventure Park on Friday for a day of outdoor activities with the folks from Healthy Hometowns.

We also spent the day with some of our most notable Maine authors, such as Donn Fender, Lynn Plourde, and illustrator Ben Bishop, and enjoyed an evening of free music at the Discovery Park Stage.

The final day of the celebration was full of crafts, food and fun. We enjoyed the food booths along Main Street and browsed the works of local artisans.

Then it was fun and games for all at Beanland, and that fun continued with wagon rides.

Dan Zanes, popular musician with children, took the stage on Saturday afternoon. He was followed by Maine musicians: Kenya Hall Band, Lyle Divinsky, Jerks of Grass, Anna and the Diggs, and the Pete Kilpatrick Band for an afternoon of live local tunes.

We headed into the final night of the celebration with a concert by Chris Isaak. And last but certainly not least were the best fireworks in Maine!

What was your favorite part of the week? Do you have your own “best of” list? Share your memories in the comment section below or post a photo on our Facebook page.

Comments (8)

It was lots of fun. As Freeport residents, we participated in the parade, volunteered at a food station, and also met Seth Wescott, did some shopping, and watched the fireworks. We also got a great photo with the giant backpack. Thanks for such a well-executed celebration!

Pat Keegan | July 11, 2012 | 7:29 pm

Would love to know what was the estimation of the crowd on Saturday & for the concert & fireworks. We had a wonderful four days! Thanks.

Nathaniel | L.L.Bean | July 12, 2012 | 7:19 am

Hi, Pat. We’re so glad you were able to join us for the Hometown Celebration. We estimated nearly 50,000 attendees during the four-day event. Quite a turnout!

Suzanne | July 12, 2012 | 11:56 pm

Had a great timeon the 5th! Wondering if any of the pics w/Seth & the 100 kids came out? Love the one w/the cupcakes.

My husband and I attended the four day celebration and we enjoyed every moment. This was my surprise 50th birthday trip and was so happy to be able to spend it in Maine and with LL Bean! The fireworks on Saturday night were the best I have ever seen. We had a great Walk-on Adventure kayak trip with Piper and Suzanne. We strolled down Main Street Saturday enjoying the food and crafts. We had a completely fantastic four days-thank you very much LL Bean!

PAUL | May 14, 2013 | 10:30 am

LOOKING FR THE NEW LISWT OF SHWS

Laurie | L.L.Bean | May 14, 2013 | 1:21 pm

Hi Paul, We’ll have the full 2013 summer schedule on llbean.com by May 24. Thanks for checking. ^LB